Friday, December 24, 2004

From Time to Time...

It is my hope that from time to time, I can use this blog to help make others aware of things they might not be hearing or reading about. You can use the "comments" section to alert me (and others) to the same.

OK, since writing my first entry about Tony Blair and his visit to the Palestinian territories, I have learned that while he did visit Arafat's grave, he simply nodded in respect and moved on, upsetting people there by not laying down a wreath. Eh. Okay. He also said that negotiations cannot begin until there is an end to terror. Better.

In other news, according to a poll taken by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), more than half of the Palestinians support stopping the violence. That's something, and I feel it's important to acknowledge any kind of improvement.

And now a couple of items from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL):

Increase in Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes in LA CountyThe Hate Crimes Report released by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations shows that Jews continue to be the most frequently targeted religious group, now accounting for 84 percent of religious-based hate crimes. Find out more by visiting here.

Media WatchIncitement In Palestinian Textbooks Continues
Roger Avenstrup's argument, in the International Herald Tribune, that the textbooks being used in Palestinian classrooms are free of anti-Israel incitement is disingenuous. Find out more by visiting here. [UPDATE: While I got this alert recently, the URL seems to be down now; for more info on subject, see below]

Honestreporting.com:

They alerted us to the Avenstrup article too and offered a different one, written by Itamar Marcus, which takes on the above article. According to HR, Marcus "said those like Avenstrup 'are tragically enabling the Palestinian Authority to avoid necessary changes in its education system.' Marcus gives a number of examples of Palestinian schoolbook lessons that the Koran views the Jews as 'the enemy of God,' that Israel resides on Palestinians' 'stolen homeland,' and of an Islamic religious obligation to destroy the Jewish state." You can read Marcus's article here.